Pitchfork

When it comes to career retrospectives, mere Best Of or Greatest Hits collections will suffice for some artists, but not for Philip Glass. Instead, the minimalist pioneer gets his very own Glass Box: A Nonesuch Retrospective, a 10-disc set showcasing material from his body of operas, symphonies, chamber compositions, film scores, collaborations, and other pieces.
 
Glass Box comes out via Nonesuch on September 23, but of course, it's no mere box set. In addition to the 10 CDs, there is a 191-page booklet with photos, texts, a composer's note, and liner notes from friends and admirers including David Byrne, Paul Simon, Laurie Anderson, director Errol Morris, artist Chuck Close, and Kronos Quartet founder David Harrington, among others. All of this comes packaged in a cube with each of its sides featuring an image of Glass by one of the following artists: Robert Mapplethorpe, Annie Leibovitz, Chuck Close, Robert Wilson, and Francesco Clemente.

Glass also has a bevy of live appearances scheduled over the next several months, including discussions, a solo piano performance, shows with Patti Smith and his Philip Glass Ensemble, and performances of his Leonard Cohen collaboration, "Book of Longing".

Glass Box:

Disc 1:

Music in Contrary Motion
Music With Changing Parts
Music in Similar Motion

Disc 2:

Music in Twelve Parts, Parts VII-X

Disc 3:

Einstein on the Beach, 9 Selections

Disc 4:

Glassworks/Analog:
Orange Mountain Music Archive
Étoile Polaire
Dressed Like an Egg
Mad Rush for Organ

Disc 5:

Satyagraha, Act 1-III, Scene 1

Disc 6:

Koyaanisqatsi, 6 Selections
Powaqqatsi, 8 Selections

Disc 7:

String Quartets Nos. 2, 4, 5
Études for Piano Nos. 2, 3, 5, 9

Disc 8:

Selections from the CIVIL warS, Symphony No. 5, Akhnaten, and Hydrogen Jukebox

Disc 9:

Symphonies Nos. 3 & 8

Disc 10:

Filmworks, selections from: Mishima, The Secret Agent, Kundun, Anima Mundi, La Belle et la Bête, The Thin Blue Line, Dracula, The Fog of War, Candyman, The Truman Show, The Hours

Philip Glass:

08-22 Big Sur, CA - Henry Miller Memorial Library (Henry Miller Memorial Library benefit) !
09-01 Porto Alegre, Brazil - Auditorium (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul) *
09-03 Salvador, Brazil - TBA *
09-14 Zaragoza, Spain - Expo Zaragoza #
09-18 Turin, Italy - Teatro Alfieri $
09-20 Milan, Italy - Teatro degli Arcimboldi $
10-03 Cleveland, OH - Playhouse Square %
10-10 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House $
10-11 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House $
10-12 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House $
10-13 Melbourne, Australia - The Playhouse (Melbourne International Arts Festival) ^
10-15 Melbourne, Australia - Melbourne International Arts Festival $
10-16 Melbourne, Australia - Melbourne International Arts Festival $
10-17 Melbourne, Australia - Melbourne International Arts Festival $
02-16 San Francisco, CA - San Francisco Performances ~

! with Wendy Sutter, Mick Rossi
* "Philip Glass discussion: Creativity & Collaboration"
# Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble perform the world premiere of "Los Paisajes del Rio"
$ "Book of Longing" performance
% solo piano performance
^ with Patti Smith
~ Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble perform "Music in Twelve Parts"